Characters

Roger Sterling Played by John Slattery

Roger Sterling
Roger Sterling Quotes »

Roger Sterling is a Partner at the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce advertising agency; his father founded the original Sterling Cooper with Bertram Cooper. Roger has suffered multiple heart attacks but continues to smoke and drink.

Roger divorces his wife to marry the much younger Jane Siegel, who briefly worked as Don Draper's secretary. In the past, Roger had a lengthy affair with Joan Harris (neè Holloway). At SCDP, Roger begins compiling his memoirs, later reflecting to Joan, "Every time I think back, all the good stuff was with you."

Joan declines to rekindle their romance, though the two have sex after being robbed one night. Joan becomes pregnant and informs Roger that he's the father. She visits a doctor who performs abortions but decides to keep the baby and does not tell Roger.

A World War II veteran, Roger damages SCDP's chances to land Honda motorcycles by insulting the Japanese company's executives about the war. Roger's erratic behavior and disinclination to hustle new business prompts Lane Pryce to bring back Ken Cosgrove as an account executive.

Roger's main contribution to SCDP is Lucky Strike, a legacy account from his father. When Lucky Strike drops SCDP, Roger conceals the news and pretends not to know even after Ken learns the truth. Don excoriates Roger for ignoring his sole account. When Roger complains about Don's tirade, Cooper replies, "Lee Garner Jr. never took you seriously because you never took yourself seriously."

View a letter written by Roger Sterling and included with purchase of a Mad Men themed watch.
Video: Roger Sterling for Season 4 »

 

Roger Sterling Quotes

“Look, we’ve got oysters Rockefeller! Beef Wellington! Napoleons! We leave this lunch alone, it’ll take over Europe.”
Season 1, Episode 6: “Babylon”
“I guess what I’m saying is at some point we’ve all parked in the wrong garage.”
Season 1, Episode 7: “Red in the Face”
“When a man gets to a point in his life when his name’s on the building, he can get an unnatural sense of entitlement.”
Season 1, Episode 7: “Red in the Face”
“You know what my father used to say? ‘Being with a client is like being in a marriage. Sometimes you get into it for the wrong reasons, and eventually they hit you in the face.”
Season 1, Episode 10: “Long Weekend”
“When God closes a door, he opens a dress.”
Season 1, Episode 10: “Long Weekend”
“I shall be both dog and pony.”
Season 1, Episode 11: “Indian Summer”
“Look, I want to tell you something because you’re very dear to me, and I hope you understand it comes from the bottom of my damaged, damaged heart: you are the finest piece of ass I ever had, and I don’t care who knows it. I am so glad I got to roam those hillsides.”
Season 1, Episode 11: “Indian Summer”
“Can I just fire everyone?”
Season 2, Episode 2: “Flight 1″
“Don’t you love the chase? Sometimes it doesn’t work out; those are the stakes. But when it does work out, it’s like having that first cigarette: your head gets all dizzy, your heart pounds, your knees go weak. Remember that? Old business is just old business.”
Season 2, Episode 4: “Three Sundays”
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told my daughter: if you put a penny in a jar every time you make love in the first year of marriage, and then you take a penny out of the jar every time you make love in the second year, you know what you have? A jar full of pennies.”
Season 2, Episode 5: “The New Girl”
“Do you want to be right, or do you want to be married?”
Season 2, Episode 9: “Six-Month Leave”
“It’s easy adjusting to happiness.”
Season 3, Episode 3: “My Old Kentucky Home”
“This is the office and that’s life, and this is good and that’s life.”
Season 4, Episode 2: “Christmas Comes But Once a Year”
“Have a drink. It’ll make me look younger.”
Season 4, Episode 5: “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword”
“They won’t know it’s over until you drop the big one. Twice.”
Season 4, Episode 5: “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword”
“Since when is forgiveness a better quality than loyalty?”
Season 4, Episode 5: “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword”
“Garcon! Je m’appelle Rojaire. Je suis un taxi, s’il vous plait!”
Season 4, Episode 6: “Waldorf Stories”
“We can solve this problem with a flask.”
Season 4, Episode 7: “The Suitcase”
“I’m going to go to my favorite restaurant and have a glass of cyanide, or you could join me.”
Season 4, Episode 9: “The Beautiful Girls”
“I could tell I was rubbing you the wrong way so I thought, why not have someone rub you the right way?”
Season 4, Episode 9: “The Beautiful Girls”
“I’ve got to go learn a bunch of people’s names before I fire them.”
Season 4, Episode 12: “Blowing Smoke”